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Nov., ?9o31 THE CONDOR I6I authors, namely ,4. p. psaltria, ,4. p. arizona ? and .4. p. metricanus. He concludes that the last two are the same as `4stratalinus p. psaltria: `4rizon?, from Fort Wingate, N.M. was based on the immature parti-colored plumage of psatlria, and mea:icanus is nothing more than the fully perfected black-backed plumage of the same subspecies. All three of these so-called races have been found breeding together in Colorado. All adult males from Lower California, California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah "have the back olive green, apparently never assuming the black plumage of true psaltria." This form is described as `4stratalinus psaltria hesperophilus? the type being taken from San Bernardino. BIRDS IN THEIR Rl?LATIONS TO MAN. By CLAR?NC? m. W?}?Dand NED DEARBORN. 8VO. 380 pages, and many full-page and text illustrations. T.B. Lippincott Co., Philad. x9o3. This excellent book is, as the title-page states, "A Manual of Economic Ornithology for the United States and Canada." It is written in an entertaining style, and is certainly a very valu- able addition to the literature of economic ornithology. As a storehouse of facts for the lay- reader, as well as for the professional ornithologist, it will be warmly welcomed, and its mission of education is one to be highly commended. In such a short notice it is difficult to give an adequate idea of a book of this character, which necessarily deals with many details. We would therefore advise the reader to procure a copy, if he is interested in this important branch of ornithological study. THE ECONOMIC VALUI? OF BIRDS TO THE STATE. By FRANK M. CHAPMAN. State of New York Forest Fish and Game Commission, 4 to, pp. 1-66, I2 colored plates. Sept. I9O3. In this excellent paper Mr. Chapman has presented a treatise on the economic status of the more important land birds of New York state. But from the nature of the subject his remarks have a much wider application, and omitting certain species would apply very well to California. Of necessity much of the paper is compilation, but the author has exercised good judgment in the selection of extracts, and in the choice of his sources. The paper opens with 'The Bird and the State,' followed by 'What the Bird Does for the State,' under which is considered, 'The Bird and the Forester,' 'The Bird and the Fruit-grower,' 'The Bird and the Farmer,' and 'The Bird and the Citizen.' Then follows 'What the State does for the Bird, 'What the State Should Do for the Bird,' and 'The Facts in the Case.' The princi- pal families of land birds are taken up in order, and the commoner or more important economic species are considered under each. Copious references are given to original sources, which makes the paper a most handy compendium of economic ornithology. The twelve colored plates are by Mr. Louis Agassiz Fuertes, and are well reproduced. They represent twenty-four species, of the leading types, from hawks to thrushes. The plate repre- senting the red-tailed and Cooper hawks is particularly fine, both in the pose of the birds and in coloring, and we are also much taken with that of the screech owl, representing the gray and rufous phases of this familiar bird. NOTES ON THE ANATOMY OF GEOSPIZA? COCORNIS AND CERTHIDIA. By ROBERT E. SNOD- GRASS. From 'The Auk,' XX, pp. 4o2-I7, plates XVII-XX. Mr. Snodgrass compares at some length the anatomy of Geospiza, Cocornis and Certhidia. CerlMdia is usually considered as belonging to the Mniotiltidae and Geospiza and Cocornis to the Fringillidae, but "in all structural points Cocornis really resembles Cerlhidia more than it re- sembles Geospiza. To be sure, the adult males of Cocomix and most of the Geospiza species are almost plain black, while the adults of CertMdia are gray with admixtures of olive and brownish. Yet, in the shape of the bill and in the structure of the skull CertMdia and Cocornis are almost identical. On the other hand, the structural differences befween C,,cornis and Geos- pizaareslight--the slender-billed Geospiz?. differ from Cocornis in the characters of the skull and skeleton of the bill scarcely more than Cocornis does from CertMdia. The difference is not nearly so great as that between the slender-billed forms of Geospiza itself. Hence, a study of these three genera, is suggestive of a possible derivation of Geopiza from Cocornis and of Cocornis from Certhidia. This however, would place Geospiza in the Mniotiltidae!" There is no objection to this, Mr. Snodgrass. Certain learned authorities group together in- to the family Drepanididae birds as dissimilar as our redstart and cardinal grosbeak. Verily classification plays some queer pranks!--WAnT}{R K. FISHER.